BioCraft reports parity in cat trial for cell-cultured treat
Bottom line
BioCraft says an independent feeding trial found cats were just as likely to choose its cell-cultured cat treat as a conventional comparator, Applaws Chicken Creamy Lickable Treats. In the 40-cat trial, conducted by German market research firm Regionales-Produkt-Panel, 20 cats took their first bite from each product, and the overall intake split also showed no statistically significant preference. The result adds a palatability datapoint for a category that’s still trying to prove not just safety and scalability, but whether cats will actually eat it. BioCraft has been building that case in Europe, where it said in March 2025 that Austrian registration to use Category 3 animal byproducts allowed it to begin selling cultivated pet food ingredients to EU producers, and in mid-2026 it published what it described as the first public safety dossier for an animal cell-cultured pet food ingredient. (proteinproductiontechnology.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the announcement is less about a finished clinical nutrition claim and more about early evidence on acceptance in a hard-to-please species. Cats can reject novel formats quickly, so a no-preference result against an established lickable treat suggests cultivated ingredients may be able to clear one practical barrier to use in treats, toppers, or future therapeutic-support products. It doesn’t answer bigger questions around long-term feeding, complete-and-balanced formulation, digestibility, or regulatory treatment in every market, but it does fit a broader pattern of cultivated-pet-food companies trying to move from concept to animal data. A separate 2026 feeding trial from Ghent University and BeneMeat, for example, reported strong acceptance and comparable digestibility for a complete feline diet containing cultivated meat, showing the field is beginning to generate more than just lab claims. (proteinproductiontechnology.com)
What to watch: Watch for peer-reviewed publication of BioCraft’s palatability data, additional digestibility or long-term feeding studies, and any commercial launches or regulatory milestones that move cultivated pet ingredients from pilot evidence into routine veterinary and retail use. (proteinproductiontechnology.com)
BioCraft Pet Nutrition says an independent feeding trial found no statistical preference between its cell-cultured cat treat and Applaws Chicken Creamy Lickable Treats, offering a small but notable test of whether cultivated ingredients can compete on palatability in cats. According to reporting on the trial, 40 cats participated, 20 took their first bite from each product, and total consumption was similarly even, with 17 cats eating more of BioCraft’s treat, 19 eating more Applaws, and four consuming equal amounts. The study was conducted by German market research firm Regionales-Produkt-Panel. (proteinproductiontechnology.com)
The result lands at a time when cultivated pet food companies are trying to shift the conversation from promise to proof. BioCraft has been in the category for years, first developing cultivated mouse-based concepts for cats, then expanding to chicken cell lines and positioning itself as an ingredient supplier rather than a branded finished-food company. More recently, the company has emphasized commercial readiness in Europe, where it announced in March 2025 that it had received Austrian registration tied to Category 3 animal byproducts, which it said enabled sales to EU pet food producers. (petfoodindustry.com)
That regulatory backdrop matters because cultivated ingredients for pet food still sit in a patchwork environment. BioCraft and trade coverage have noted that, in the EU and UK, these ingredients are not subject to an independent premarket safety review process specific to this category in the way many people might assume. Against that backdrop, BioCraft published what it described as the first publicly available safety dossier for an animal cell-cultured pet food ingredient in 2026, including data on its mouse embryonic stem cell line, genotoxicity testing, and a proposed disclosure framework it calls the BioCraft Pet Nutrition Standard. (petfoodprocessing.net)
The feeding-trial details themselves are straightforward, but useful. This was a palatability comparison, not a long-term feeding or health-outcomes study. The comparator was a mainstream lickable cat treat, and the headline finding was parity rather than superiority. That may sound modest, but in cats, parity can be meaningful: palatability work in pet food often uses panels of roughly this size, and industry guidance has long treated acceptance testing as a necessary early screen before companies invest further in formulation or scale-up. (proteinproductiontechnology.com)
Industry reaction around BioCraft has focused less on this single trial than on transparency and category-building. In coverage of the company’s safety dossier, food safety consultant Dima Faour-Klingbeil said BioCraft’s decision to publish detailed safety data rather than keep it proprietary was the kind of practice the sector needs more of. Separately, sector reporting has framed pet food as a practical proving ground for cultivated protein because it allows companies to test real products, real feeding behavior, and real purchase decisions before attempting larger human-food markets. (petfoodprocessing.net)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is an early-market signal, not practice-changing nutrition evidence. The main takeaway is that cultivated ingredients may be approaching functional viability in feline products from a sensory standpoint, which is one of the toughest hurdles in cat nutrition. But veterinarians and nutrition teams will still want much more: digestibility data, nutrient bioavailability, long-term tolerance, manufacturing consistency, contaminant controls, labeling clarity, and market-specific regulatory oversight. That’s especially important if these ingredients move beyond treats into complete diets, where acceptance alone is nowhere near enough. Encouragingly for the broader category, a separate 2026 peer-reviewed study from Ghent University and BeneMeat reported strong acceptance and comparable digestibility for a complete cultivated-meat feline diet, suggesting the evidence base is beginning to widen. (petfoodindustry.com)
There’s also a client-communication angle. Some pet parents will be interested in cultivated ingredients because of sustainability, supply-chain resilience, or animal-welfare concerns, while others will have immediate questions about safety, processing, and whether the food is “natural.” Veterinary teams don’t need to endorse the category prematurely, but they may increasingly need a working understanding of what these products are, what evidence exists, and where the evidence still falls short. BioCraft’s own positioning has stressed reduced exposure to contaminants and pathogens compared with conventional meat, though those claims will need continued independent validation as products scale. (biocraftpet.com)
What to watch: The next meaningful milestones will be peer-reviewed publication of BioCraft’s palatability work, more complete feeding and digestibility studies, clearer regulatory treatment across major markets, and the first commercial products that give veterinarians and pet parents something more concrete than pilot data to evaluate. (proteinproductiontechnology.com)